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Backgammon |
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 Backgammon is
an exciting game, a gambling game but a game of high skill at the same time. It is played in casinos only occasionally, as an attraction to get people in who
wouldn't go otherwise. In its true nature, it is a private contest between friends. It is this intimate and competitive quality of Backgammon that explains its
widespread appeal.
The game is known to be very old without the exact origins being identified. It was in England before the Battle of Hastings in one
form or another but it was the Crusaders who made it really popular. In the Third Crusade in 1190, the french king ordered that no one below the rank of knight
should play it, so demanding was the gambling spirit amongst the soldiers.
 Richard I and his brother King John played it under its new name, tables, and it was popular among the upper classes. It spread
throughout the Middle Ages for the next 400 years, gradually filtering down through the class system to Inn keepers who provided boards for their customers.
The church tried to ban the game and fought a losing battle against it.
By 1645 the early game had been adapted in England with more complex rules, such
as the triple game or a backgammon as we call it, and the way we play doublets today, that is one number played four times. It also got a new
name, Backgammon, and within twenty years tables was never heard of again.
The game was popular until the 19th century when chess
dominated the social scene. Early in the twentieth century the game absorbed the doubling cube, a way of registering the doubling of stakes mid-game. That was
such a good idea that it was only time before the modern culture of gambling picked the game up again. So it was in the 1970s that Backgammon showed its real
colours and today it is played around the world. Of course it has never been away from its roots in the Middle East, Turkey and Greece, although to this day
many people there still play the game without the doubling cube. |
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| The Game |
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Backgammon is alluring because of the tremendous history associated with it and the beauty of
its simplicity. Its a game that Kings have played for thousands of years and yet all the rules can be learnt in ten minutes. Still more intriguing is the
difficulty in grasping the methods of playing the game well and to this day, even aided by very fast computers, experts are undecided on the how best to
approach the game. This fact makes the game more attractive than Chess, for example, where arduous computer work is able to solve problems
completely.
Backgammon is also a game with two distinct parts which must both be understood to play well. Checker play must be allied with the equity
calculations that go with gambling on the outcome of a game. The most effective way of winning a game is often not the best route in terms of winning equity,
or money.
Today Backgammon is not as popular as Poker because poker is more easily played by groups of people and the image is more down to earth.
Another reason is that it is very difficult to be a top backgammon player and playing against one becomes a very personal experience which is hard. The group
of poker players at a table makes it much less personal and thus bearable, even when playing stronger opponents.
Popularity is however on the increase
because of good computer software that allows people to practice very well at home and Internet sites that enable people from around the world to play each
other whilst staying at home. |
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| Beginners |
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A good book is crucial to learn how to play this game. Few players have the wherewithall to
understand strategies of play without first being shown examples from books or experienced players. In fact all the worlds top players started with the book
approach. If you want a quick reference look at How to Play Backgammon.
There are currently many pieces of
computer software that play the game to varying standards. Most will give beginners a strong opponent but will be unlikely to show the way to develop their
game. The top two programs are known as Snowie and Jellyfish and can achieve a very
high level of play as well as show an eager learner the way forward to improve their game and results. They are however both in excess of £100 for the
full analysis tool although straight forward game playing versions are much cheaper.
Beginners should attempt to encourage friends who will be good
playing partners. When a basic level of skill is reached, as measured against a program or decent player, then consider finding a local club. These are listed below. |
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| Professionals |
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A true professional is hard to find, if at all possible. Very good players at this game can
be sure of making a profit over a long period of time but the difference between players at the top is very small and so competition is very strong. The best a
world class player can realistically hope for is to earn money from tuition or royalties from books, as with many other pursuits or sports.
Top players
do have enjoyable experiences to look forward to by playing in big tournaments in nice places around the world. Monte Carlo, the Bahamas,
Costa Rica, Las Vegas and Istanbul are among the venues for the biggest events. It is a way of life rather than a professional
pursuit.
The traditional place Backgammon had amongst the affluent classes still exits but they are no longer the main body of people who attend the big
tournaments. There is a much younger set of computer wired players who had the benefit of good quality reference material to learn from. Now there are serious
pieces of software that can be strong opponents for practising at length. Still however there are a few top players who manage to show the rest that there is
still something to learn in this game.
The greatest player of the modern era is the 1978 World Champion Paul Magriel, whose book
Backgammon served as the bible of the game for 20 years. It still is a brilliant piece of cohesive analysis and explanation of the game. All
budding players should buy a copy to keep forever. Two time World Champion ('83&'87) Bill Robertie is the most prolific writer of useful books on
the game. |
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| Clubs |
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| Tournaments |
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Tournaments make use of the match form of Backgammon and are the best way to identify good players
from an entry field of mixed ability players. There are many attractive aspects of tournaments and some draw-backs.
Good features of tournament
play
- Limited Liability Players on the learning curve can compete
in tournaments with very strong players with no risk other than the entry fee that they paid at the beginning of the tournament.
- Focus Point Players developing their game get real life
practice under pressure where they can demonstrate to themselves whether they can meet all the challenges of the game.
- Large Prizes With many players in a single tournament, even
modest entry fees add up to make substantial prizes for the winner and runners-up. This attracts the top players and creates tension in each match.
Bad features of tournament play
- Knockout formats Most tournaments are run along the lines of
the knock-out format and this means that an early defeat will put players immediately out of contention, often with nothing to do for a long time. To avoid
this inevitable drawback, large International tournaments feature consolation tournaments. These take a slice of the original entry fees to form prizes of
their own and all players knocked out in the first two rounds of the main event can play in the Consolation Event.
- Expenses Tournaments are usually not held on your doorstep
so travel expenses will always be incurred.
There are a handful of major tournaments in the world and many smaller national events that take
place all the time. The World Championships take place in Monte Carlo in July of each year and have been there since 1979.
Before that time it was held in the Bahamas and the last winner there was the great Paul Magriel. |
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| World Championships |
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| YEAR |
WINNER |
COUNTRY |
| 1967 |
Tim Holland |
USA |
| 1968 |
Tim Holland |
USA |
| 1969 |
Alice Topping |
USA |
| 1970 |
no championship |
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| 1971 |
Tim Holland |
USA |
| 1972 |
Oswald Jacoby |
USA |
| 1973 |
Carol Crawford |
USA |
| 1974 |
Claude Beer |
USA |
| 1975 |
Billy Eisenberg |
USA |
| 1976 |
Baron Vernon Ball |
USA |
| 1976 |
Joe Dwek |
UK |
| 1977 |
Ken Goodman |
USA |
| 1977 |
Jean Noel Grinda |
France |
| 1978 |
Paul Magriel |
USA |
| 1978 |
Richard de Surmont |
France |
| 1979 |
Luigi Villa |
Italy |
| 1980 |
Walter Coratella |
Mexico |
| 1981 |
Lee Genud |
USA |
| 1982 |
Jacques Michel |
Switzerland |
| 1983 |
William Robertie |
USA |
| 1984 |
Michael Svobodny |
USA |
| 1985 |
Charles-Henri Sabet |
Switzerland |
| 1986 |
Clement Palacci |
Italy |
| 1987 |
William Robertie |
USA |
| 1988 |
Philip Marmorstein |
Germany |
| 1989 |
Joseph Russel |
USA |
| 1990 |
Hal Heinrich |
Canada |
| 1991 |
Michael Meyburg |
Germany |
| 1992 |
Ion Ressu |
Romania |
| 1993 |
Peter Thomsen |
Denmark |
| 1994 |
Franck Frigo |
USA |
| 1995 |
David Ben-Zion |
Israel |
| 1996 |
David Nahmad |
Italy |
| 1997 |
Jerry Grandell |
Sweden |
| 1998 |
Michael Meyburg |
Germany |
| 1999 |
Jorgen Granstedt |
Sweden |
| 2000 |
Katie Scalamandre |
USA |
| 2001 |
Jorgen Granstedt |
Sweden |
| 2002 |
Mads Andersen |
Denmark |
| 2003 |
Jon Røyset |
Norway |
| 2004 |
Peter Hallberg |
Denmark |
| 2005 |
Dennis Carlston |
USA |
| 2006 |
Philip Vischjager |
Holland |
| 2007 |
Jorge Alberto Pan |
Argentina |
| 2008 |
Lars Trabolt |
Denmark |
| 2009 |
Masayuki Mochizuki |
Japan |
| 2010 |
Lars Bentzon |
Denmark |
| 2011 |
Takumitsu Suzuki |
Japan |
| 2012 |
Nevzat Dogan |
Denmark |
| 2013 |
Vyacheslav Pryadkin |
Ukraine |
| 2014 |
Akiko Yazawa |
Japan |
| 2015 |
Ali Cihanger Cetinel |
Turkey |
| 2016 |
Jörgen Granstedt |
Sweden |
| 2017 |
Didier Assaraf |
France |
| 2018 |
Akiko Yazawa |
Japan |
| 2019 |
Eli Roymi |
Israel |
| 2020 |
No event |
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| 2021 |
Masayuki Mochizuki |
Japan |
| 2022 |
Sander Lylloff |
Denmark |
| YEAR |
PLACE |
| 1967 - 74 |
Las Vegas |
| 1975 - 78 |
Bahamas |
| 1976 - present |
Monte Carlo |
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The Backgammon World Championship started off in the gambling capital of the world, Las
Vegas, in 1967. The winner then was one of the three sixties pioneers of the game, Tim Holland. The others being Oswald Jacoby and Carol Crawford. In 1975 the
tournament moved to the Bahamas. In 1976 a rival tournament started in Monte Carlo which is why there are 2 champions for the years 76 - 78.
The last
World Championship Event to be staged in the Bahamas was 1978, the victor being Paul Magriel. Since then the tournament has been held in the principality of
Monaco and now it has a permanent place in The Fairmont Hotel (previously The Grand for a few years and Loews Hotel for many years), over looking the harbour.
Its a grand setting indeed and it is primarily a showcase for the game where the top players come to have fun.
The tounament is a week long affair with
four consolation events running alonside the main event. The entry fee is around $1000 and there are usually around 250 players participating in the
Championship. The are lower divisions as well for the many developing players. The total of $250,000 in prize money is distributed amongst the winners of all
the events with the largest part going to the winner, the World Champion.
Backgammon shows itself to be international by the long
list of different nationalities that have won the championship. It can't be long before another of the home nations (Greece, Turkey, Egypt) shows itself to
have adopted the western game enough to provide a champion beyond our 2015 champ.
Sander Lylloff (Denmark) is the new backgammon World Champion, beating
Zdenek Zizka (Czech) in the final.
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Sander Lylloff, 2022 World Champion
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| Software |
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GNU Backgammon
GNU Backgammon (gnubg) is for playing and analysing backgammon positions,
games and matches. It's based on a neural network. GNU Backgammon is free software and released under the GNU General Public License (GPL).
I (the
editor) have won a few large BG tournaments in my time and this software will give anyone a challenge and the analysis and rollout features are wonderful for a
product that is free. Get yours here.
eXtreme Gammon
eXtreme Gammon is the Number 1 backgammon program in the world. It is the strongest and fastest (by far) tool of reference for all the top
players in the world.
Snowie
Snowie is a great tool for backgammon players of every level. Based on proprietary neural networks and a
user-friendly interface, it will analyze and annotate an entire match. The free GNU Backgammon is however better.
OTHER
Many other types of
backgammon game software exist to play on your computer or you over the net. We sample just a few.
GreedyGammon
GreedyGammon is a new backgammon server from the publishers of 3DFiBs and FiBzilla. (Better than FIBS) Please note.
GreedyGammon is NOT a FIBS client. You must create a new username/password to play. |
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| Internet |
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 There are a
few ways for you to play Backgammon on the internet. Many game sites exist which include areas for Backgammon players and you'll have to download some software
to connect.
True Money Games
TrueMoneyGames allows you to play real-money backgammon against live players
from all over the world, providing an easy-to-use interface with animated 2D/3D-graphics and realistic sound. TrueMoneyGames supports players in 9 languages.
There is no membership fee, and you can play just for fun, or play for real money stakes, with secure money transfers and guaranteed payouts. Refer to the
website True Money Games
Gammonsite
Free to play as a guest or $20 to join and play against the best.
Gammonsite.
Others
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